If I Die Young
by Ra4chel-the 4 is silent
Summary: If I die young bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of rosed, sink me in the river at dawn, send me away with the words of a love song. One-shot, based on the song by The Band Perry. Channy!


**This story is dedicated to my grandpa, Charles Burrill. RIP.**

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**I don't own Sonny with a Chance, any of the characters, or any of the songs used in this one-shot. I do, however, own a spork.**

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**Connie Munroe couldn't believe her ears.

"Dead?" she repeated into the phone.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Munroe," the paramedic said. Connie still couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could her daughter be _dead_? She had just seen her twelve hours ago. Sonny had been so full of life this morning. She had skipped out the door, blowing her mother a kiss goodbye, excited for another fun-filled day at So Random. She had just performed a show 4 hours ago, for goodness sake. She couldn't be _dead_.

Connie hung up the phone without saying another word. Images of Sonny's life flashed through her mind. She remembered teaching her to ride a bike, her first day of school, her first loose tooth, the way she'd comforted her when Mr. Munroe had left, he first date, her first day at So Random…then she started thinking about what was still to come; the doctor lifting the sheet to reveal her daughter's cold, broken body, the funeral, the burial…How could this have happened?

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"Yes, I'll let them know," Marshall said into the phone. "I'm so sorry, Connie." He hung up and tried to regain his composure. He'd just gotten the news that Sonny had been in an accident on her way home last night. She'd had such a bright future. It was hard to believe that such a sweet, beautiful, talented girl could be dead, just like that.

Ten minutes later, Marshall, Tawni, Nico, Zora, and Grady were all gathered in the prop house. The kids were goofing around and being silly, but Marshall still wore the same grim expression on his face. If only they knew what he was about to tell them.

"Kids, I have some bad news," he began. "I just got off the phone with Sonny's mother. Sonny got in a car accident last night."

"Is she okay?" Grady asked. Everyone looked at Marshall with a worried look on their face. It broke his heart to have to break this to them.

"She didn't make it," he explained, trying to hold in his tears. Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Finally, someone spoke.

"She's dead?" Tawni clarified. Marshall nodded somberly. Tawni stood up and ran out of the room in tears. The others just sat there, completely numb.

_How could this have happened?_ thought Nico. _All Sonny ever did was give and all I ever did was take. It should've been me. Sonny deserved to live more than I do._

"I'm sorry, kids," Marshall choked out, tears streaking down his face. Zora stood up and gave him a hug. The others joined in and for awhile, they all just stood there and cried.

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"Hey gorgeous," Chad greeted his reflection as he sat down in front of the mirror. "You're looking good this morning. Now what do you think we should have for breakfast?" The "two" of them agreed on pancakes and Chad headed to the cafeteria. The cast of So Random sat at their regular table, staring at their untouched food, looking depressed. He couldn't blame them. He'd be depressed too if he had to eat that pig slop.

"Hey, Randoms," he greeted them. Tawni glared up at him. Her eyes were red and black mascara streaks ran down her cheeks. It didn't take a genius to figure out she'd been crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sarcastically. "Did you little show get canceled?" Normally one of the Randoms would have come up with a clever comeback, but they were all silent. Chad instantly regretted his words. Something must be seriously wrong.

"Where's Sonny?" he asked, suddenly noticing the absence of his ex-girlfriend, Sonny Munroe.

"The morgue," Nico muttered bitterly. Chad laughed.

"No, seriously, guys," he said. They all looked up at him, their expressions solemn. Suddenly, Chad felt sick to his stomach.

"You mean…" he began, unable to finish his sentence. Zora nodded.

"She got in a car accident last night," she explained. "She died on the way to the hospital." _No!_ Sonny _couldn't_ be dead. He had so much he'd wanted to tell her, but he'd been too afraid of what her reaction would be. Now he regretted not telling her. He had sometimes fantasized about serenading her with a song he'd written himself, but he'd soon given up on that idea and left the unfinished song under her mattress. After all, getting turned down _again_ would have been unbearable. Now he wished he'd done it while he still had the chance. Maybe then they would have gotten back together. Maybe they would have gone to the premiere of that movie Sonny had been dying to see last night, like they'd been planning on before they broke up. Maybe, if he had just _tried_ to make it up to her, she would still be alive…

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Two weeks later

Chad stood in front of the headstone and stepped forward cautiously.

_Sonny Munroe _it read. _A star among stars, 1993-2011._ Chad knelt down on the ground, trying to think about the fact that Sonny's cold, dead body was lying beneath him.

"Hi, Sonny," he whispered. "I'm so sorry I missed your funeral. I just…I didn't want to see you like that. I wanted to remember you as you were—alive. Now I wish I'd had the chance to see you one last time. Speaking of missed chances, there's something I want to tell you." Chad took a deep breath. Even though Sonny was dead, it was still hard to say.

"I love you, Sonny," he said. "I'm I'm sorry for everything. I wish I'd treated you better. You deserve a lot better than a guy like me. I don't know if you're listening or if you can even hear me, but I really hope that, wherever you are, you'll forgive me." Chad paused and then took his guitar out of its case.

"I wrote this song for you," he said. "I was kind of hoping it would make up for me being such a jerk, but now that you're gone, I know it never will." Chad strummed the first chord and began to sing.

_Can't blame you for thinking  
That you never really knew me at all_

_I tried to deny you_

_But nothing ever made me feel so wrong_

_I thought I was protecting you_

_From everything that I go through_

_But I know that we got lost along the way_

_Here I am with all my heart_

_I hope you understand_

_I know I let you down_

_But I'm never gonna make that mistake again_

_You brought me closer to who I really am_

_Come take my hand_

_I want the world to see what you mean to me_

_What you mean to me_

_Just know that I'm sorry_

_I never wanted to make you feel so small_

_Our story is just beginning…_

Before Chad could finish the song, his vision got too clouded with tears to read the lyrics and his throat was too choked up to sing. As he wiped his eyes a gust of wind blew the lyrics out of his hand and Chad heard a very faint voice begin to sing.

_We'll let our love break down these walls_

_And ever y time I think of you_

_I think of how you pushed me through_

_And showed me how much better I could be_

Chad couldn't believe his ears. In any other situation, he would have thought the wind was singing, but he knew the truth—it was Sonny. Chad fumbled with his guitar pick and began to play the chorus again, singing along with the invisible voice

_Here I am with all my heart_

_I hope you understand_

_I know I let you down_

_But I'm never gonna make that mistake again_

_You brought me closer to who I really am_

_Come take my hand_

_I want the world to see what you mean to me_

_Yea_

_You make me feel like I'm myself_

_Instead of being someone else_

_I wanna live that every day_

_You say what no one else will say_

_You know exactly how to get to me_

_You know it's what I need_

_It's what I need_

_Yea_

_Here I am with all my heart_

_I hope you understand_

_I know I let you down_

_But I'm never gonna make that mistake again_

_You brought me closer to who I really am_

_So come take my hand_

_I want the world to see what you mean to me_

_What you mean to me_

By the time the song was finished, tears were pouring down Chad's cheeks, falling down onto the spot where Sonny was buried.

"Don't cry for me, Chad," the voice whispered. "My time here is finished." Chad looked up at the sky. The clouds had moved apart in such a way that the sun's rays shone out, giving the appearance that the heavens were opening up.

"I love you, Chad," Sonny said, her voice fading into the wind. Chad wiped his tears away and smiled. Sonny had waited to say goodbye to him. And now she was in heaven.

He stood up and gathered his lyrics from where Sonny had carried them to. He placed them against the headstone and blew it a kiss.

"Goodbye, Sonny," he whispered. "I'll never forget you."

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**Hope you liked it.**

**Chad's song is "What You Mean to Me" from Starstruck. It's not completely relevant to the situation, but it does sort of fit. I had to chance a few of the words though because it made NO sense otherwise.**

**I think I'm going to start posting new one-shots every week if I can get the time and the inspiration so keep checking back. Also, please go to my website, www(.)ra4chel(.)piczo(.)com I'll be putting up a page where you can suggest songs to base one-shots off or even just an idea…or you could always just message me. If you go to the site and the page isn't there (it'll be called "one-shots" and the link will be on the left side of the home page) check back later because I may not have gotten around to posting it yet. **

**Also, please check out some of my other stories if you haven't already. I wrote a one-shot earlier this week called "Operation Melon" which is kind of a comedy with a little bit of sad mixed in. And then there's my big SWAC stories, The Sonny Diaries which is actually a three-part series right now and then Seducing Sonny and the sequel, Summer Daze. Thanks for reading guys. I hope I didn't make you _too_ sad.**

**Peace out suckahs!**


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